Project your retirement corpus, see what it's worth in today's money, and estimate a sustainable monthly income — inflation-adjusted.
*Based on the 4% rule: withdraw 4% in year one, adjusted for inflation thereafter.
Multiply your annual expenses by 25. Spend $48,000/year? You need roughly $1.2M invested — that's the math behind the 4% rule, which says a portfolio can sustain 4% annual withdrawals (inflation-adjusted) for about 30 years. Compare the "in today's money" figure above against your 25x number. The gap is your mission.
At 3% inflation, prices double roughly every 24 years. A $2M corpus at age 60 might buy what $800,000 buys today. That's why this calculator shows both figures — nominal projections feel great and mislead easily. Plan against today's money; it's the number your brain can actually use.
A common rule of thumb is 25x your annual expenses. If you spend $40,000/year, target roughly $1,000,000 invested, adjusted for pensions and inflation.
Withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first retirement year, then adjust for inflation each year after. Historically this lasted ~30 years in most scenarios.
Nominal future values look impressive but mislead. At 3% inflation, $2M in 30 years buys what ~$800K buys today. Planning in today's money keeps targets realistic.